Tag Archives: Secondary School

From 2019 students will need to have passed the NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) two-unit Mathematics subject to enrol in any engineering or IT bachelor degree, nearly all science bachelor degrees, and bachelor degrees in economics, commerce, pharmacy and veterinary science at The University of Sydney.

The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) has recently released a report on why so many students who succeed in high school calculus then struggle in first year college calculus. While the US education system has challenges related to specifics of secondary education and curriculum, there are many similarities with the challenges for mathematics education here.

In particular the report highlights the mismatch between students’ high level of confidence entering first year and their subsequent failure or low grades. It is also clear that while some students can master advanced concepts, they do not have a solid enough background in more fundamental mathematical concepts.

“the crux of the problem: students lacking the requisite foundational abilities may not succeed because the college faculty member expects them to be at ease with these more basic ideas, freeing them to absorb and understand the new, more conceptual material.”

An article in today’s SMH refers to a report by John Kennedy, Terry Lyons & Frances Quinn Continuing decline of science and mathematics enrolments in Australian high schools‘ published in the journal ‘Teaching Science’. The report analyses raw data from education departments in each state for the period 1992-2012 and discusses the overall decline in enrolments in science and mathematics. It discusses enrolment trends for each level of mathematics subjects and provides a useful comparative table for mathematics subjects across the states.

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First Year in Maths · A network for academics teaching mathematics in first-year degree programs